*
They met the following morning at the Foreign Ministry. Kai arrived first, then Ambassador Bak with four aides. They sat around a table where tea was waiting in cups with porcelain lids to keep it hot. Pleasantries were exchanged, but despite the courtesies the atmosphere was tense. Wu began the discussion by saying: ‘I want to talk to you about chemical and biological weapons.’
Bak immediately interrupted, repeating what he had said to Kai last evening. ‘We have no such weapons.’
‘To your knowledge,’ said Wu, giving him a way out.
‘To my certain knowledge,’ Bak insisted.
Wu had a response prepared. ‘In case you should acquire any in the future, and in case the military should in fact have such weapons without your knowledge, President Chen wants you to have a clear understanding of his views.’
‘The president’s views are well known to us. I myself—’
Wu raised his voice and spoke over Bak. ‘He has asked me to make sure!’ he said, letting his anger show.
Bak shut up.
‘North Korea must never use such weapons against South Korea.’ Wu held up a hand to stop Bak interrupting again. ‘If you should defy this ruling, or overlook it, or even break it by accident, the consequences will be immediate and irrevocable. Without further discussion or even warning, China will withdraw all aid of every kind from North Korea, permanently. No more. Nothing.’
Bak looked defiant, but it was evident to Kai that beneath the slight sneer he was shocked. He attempted a sceptical tone as he said: ‘If you were to fatally weaken North Korea, the Americans would try to take over, and I’m sure you don’t want them for neighbours.’
‘I have not called you here for a discussion,’ Wu said firmly. He had now completely dropped his usual urbane manner. ‘I’m giving you the facts. Think what you like, but leave those appalling and uncontrollable weapons wherever they are currently hidden, and don’t even think about deploying them.’
Bak recovered his composure. ‘That’s a very clear message, Foreign Minister, and I thank you.’
‘Good. Now you have a message for me.’
‘Yes. The insurrection that began in Yeongjeo-dong is proving more difficult to deal with than my government has so far admitted publicly.’
‘I appreciate your frankness,’ said Wu, becoming charming again.
‘We believe that the quickest and most effective way to end this would be a joint operation between the North Korean and Chinese armies. Such a show of force would demonstrate, to the traitors, that they face overwhelming opposition.’
‘I see the logic of that,’ said Wu.
‘And it would show their supporters in South Korea and the US that North Korea, too, has powerful friends.’
Not very fucking many, Kai thought.
Wu said: ‘I will certainly pass this message to President Chen, but I can tell you right now that he will not send Chinese troops to North Korea for that purpose.’
‘This is very disappointing,’ Bak said stiffly.
‘But don’t despair,’ said Wu. ‘We may be able to give you arms and ammunition, and such intelligence as we can gather about the rebels.’
Bak clearly scorned this offer, but he was too shrewd to reject it outright. He said: ‘Any help would be welcome, but that would hardly be enough.’
‘I must add that such help would be given conditionally.’
‘What conditions?’
‘That North Korea ceases its confrontational incursions into disputed maritime waters.’
‘We do not accept the so-called Northern Limit Line imposed unilaterally—’
‘Nor do we, but that’s not the issue,’ Wu interrupted. ‘We simply think that this is a bad moment for you to make your point by ramming fishing boats.’
‘It was a trawler.’
‘President Chen wants you to defeat the rebellion, but he thinks that provocative actions against South Korea are counter-productive.’
‘The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,’ said Bak, pompously using the full official name of North Korea, ‘will not submit to bullying.’
‘We don’t want you to,’ said Wu. ‘But you should deal with one problem at a time. That way you have a better chance of resolving both.’ He stood up to indicate that the meeting was at an end.
Bak took the hint. ‘I will pass your message on,’ he said. ‘On behalf of our Supreme Leader I thank you for seeing me.’
‘You’re welcome.’
The Koreans filed out of the room. When the door closed, Kai said to Wu: ‘Do you think they’ll have the sense to do as we ask?’
‘Not a chance,’ said Wu.
DEFCON 3
INCREASE IN FORCE READINESS. AIR FORCE ABLE TO MOBILIZE IN 15 MINUTES.
(US ARMED FORCES WERE AT DEFCON 3 ON 11 SEPTEMBER 2001.)
CHAPTER 31
Gus came into the Oval Office with a map in his hand. ‘There’s been an explosion in the Korea Strait,’ he said.
Pauline had visited Korea when she was a congresswoman. The photographs of her trip had endeared her to the forty-five thousand Korean Americans in Chicago. She said: ‘Remind me exactly where the Korea Strait is.’
He came around the desk and put the map in front of her. She breathed in his distinctive aroma, woodsmoke and lavender and musk. She resisted the temptation to touch him.
He was all business. ‘It’s the channel between South Korea and Japan,’ he said, pointing. ‘The explosion was at the western end of the strait, near a large island called Jeju. It’s a holiday resort with beaches, but it also has a medium-size naval base.’
‘Any US troops at the base?’
‘No.’
‘Good.’ When in Korea she had talked to a few of the twenty-eight thousand five hundred American soldiers there, some from her congressional district, and had asked them how they felt about living on the other side of the world. They liked Seoul’s vibrant night life, they said, but Korean girls were shy.
Those young men were her responsibility.
Gus’s pointing finger rested on the map just south of the island. ‘The explosion was not far from the naval base. It was nowhere near as big as an earthquake or a nuclear bomb, but it did register on seismic sensors nearby.’
‘What could have caused it?’
‘It wasn’t a natural phenomenon of any kind. It might have been an ancient unexploded bomb, like a torpedo or a depth charge, but they think it was larger than that. The overwhelming likelihood is that a submarine blew up.’
‘Any intelligence?’
Gus’s phone rang and he took it out of his pocket. ‘Coming in now, I hope,’ he said. He looked at the screen. ‘This is the CIA. Shall I answer?’
‘Please.’
He spoke into the phone. ‘Gus Blake.’ Then he listened.
Pauline watched him. A woman’s heart can be an unexploded bomb, she thought. Handle me delicately, Gus, so that I don’t detonate. If you just bring together the wrong pair of wires I could blow up, destroying my family and my re-election hopes and your own career too.
Such inappropriate thoughts were coming to her more often.
He hung up and said: ‘The CIA talked to the National Intelligence Service in South Korea.’
Pauline grimaced. The NIS was something of a rogue agency, with a long history of corruption, interference in elections and other illegal activities.
‘I know,’ said Gus, reading her mind. ‘Not our favourite people. But here goes. They say an underwater vessel was detected in South Korean waters and identified as a Romeo-class submarine, almost certainly Chinese-built and part of the North Korean navy. Such vessels are thought to be armed with three ballistic missiles, although we don’t know for sure. When it began to approach the base at Jeju, the navy sent out a frigate.’
‘Did the frigate try to warn the submarine?’